IL Proposal Would Change SIU's Trustees Makeup

Springfield, Ill. – Legislation to change the Board of Trustees at Southern Illinois University is moving through the Illinois General Assembly.

The measure from Collinsville Democrat Jay Hoffman would require three board members either be graduates of SIU-Carbondale or come from that area, and three board members be SIU-Edwardsville alums or live near that campus in the Metro-East.

"What we want to do is just make sure the people who serve on the board either have some geographical ties to the university system or have graduated from one of the universities in the system," Hoffman said from the floor of the Illinois House last week. Hoffman was recently unsuccessful in trying to split the Edwardsville and Carbondale campuses. He's trying to get more representation on the board from the Metro-East area.